1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an articulated patient table apparatus which will facilitate manipulation of the patient for various treatments. In particular, the present invention relates to a patient table apparatus wherein a force to support the patient may be easily and quickly adjusted and wherein the table may be easily and quickly locked in or unlocked from a selected position.
2. Prior Art
Patient tables wherein the patient's body is manipulated during treatment are well known. One such treatment is known as flexion disc traction treatment. This treatment is often performed on a table having at least two sections; a lower body section that will tilt with respect to the upper body section about an axis transverse to the upper body section.
To perform the treatment, the patient mounts the table and lays face down on the table while the lower body section is locked in place. The lower body section is next unlocked. This requires the doctor to reach under the table and release the lock. Depending on the weight of the patient and the existing setting of the supporting force on the lower body section, the lower body section may tilt downward toward the floor. This can be unsettling, at best, and can even be painful to a patient with an injured back. The doctor or medical personnel treating the patient will then reach beneath the lower body section and increase the amount of upward force in order to offset the weight of the patient until the lower body section is at the same level as the upper body section. The doctor or other medical personnel will them alternately lower and then raise the lower body section while manipulating the back of the patient. Finally, before the patient departs from the table, the lower body section is again locked in place.
This procedure requires the doctor or medical personnel to reach under the table on numerous occasions and divert attention away from the patient.
The Applicant is aware of the following prior art patents:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. PATENTEE ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 1,286,184 McManis November 26, 1918 1,453,013 Koenigkramer April 24, 1923 1,319,227 Koenigkramer October 21, 1919 1,329,611 Koenigkramer February 3, 1920 1,351,482 McManis August 31, 1920 1,390,301 McManis/Koenigkramer September 13, 1921 1,371,502 McManis March 15, 1921 1,417,675 McManis May 30, 1922 1,686,979 McManis October 9, 1928 1,938,006 Blanchard December 5, 1933 4,569,339 Barnes February 11, 1986 ______________________________________
Several of the early McManis patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,286,184, 1,371,502, 1,417,675, and 1,686,979) as well as the Koenigkramer patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,453,013, 1,319,227) provide for a section of a patient table to be resiliently supported or suspended by a spring or springs which are extendable or retractable by a slidable carriage or attachment which moves along parallel arms. Either a turning wheel or a crank rotates a rod or screw shaft which moves a block linearly. The table section may be locked in place by tightening a nut on a threaded bolt in order to clamp the lock bar to the parallel arms.
The McManis and Koenigkramer patent (U.S. Pat. No. 1,390,301) discloses a similar arrangement.
Koenigkramer (U.S. Pat. No. 1,329,611) provides for suspension of multiple sections of a patient table.
Blanchard (U.S. Pat. No. 1,938,006) discloses an adjustable coil spring wherein its resistance may be varied in response to downward pressure imposed on the patient pad through the body of the patient.
Barnes (U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,339) depicts a more recent patient table although little has changed from the aforementioned early patents in the suspension and locking mechanism.
Accordingly, it is a principal object and purpose of the present invention to provide a variable suspension mechanism for a patient table that may be adjusted by the doctor or medical personnel without having to turn or crank the mechanism beneath the table.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism that may be operated to lock or unlock the table in a selected position by means of a foot lever.